Ten Minutes to Midnight
by MystifyingFog
Summary: Yep, this was definitely Dean's favorite celebration of New Year's Eve.


**A/N: Originally posted on AO3 for New Year's Day. Also, established relationship Destiel.**

Sam, Dean, and Castiel were in a bar in Baton Rouge. It was New Year's Eve, and the three of them had finished a case only a couple of hours prior. Castiel had tried to get out of going with them to celebrate, but eventually Dean persuaded him into coming along. As they had arrived, a booth opened up, so the three of them sat down. Dean sat next to Castiel on one side, while Sam sat across from them. Each of them was handling a bottle of beer.

Around the time they were all nearly done with their second round of beers, Sam looked at a clock hanging on the wall and noticed it was 11:50 PM—only ten minutes until midnight.

Sam turned his gaze toward Dean. "Hey, you gonna go find someone to kiss at midnight?"

"What?" Dean asked, as if he were startled or offended by the question. Castiel was briefly confused, but concluded that it was yet another strange thing that humans did.

"It's New Year's Eve. Don't you want to kiss someone at midnight?" Sam repeated.

Castiel was also looking at Dean now. Dean looked between the two of them, his mouth open as if he were about to say something, but wasn't quite sure what. Eventually, he settled for: "No. Why would I?"

Now it was Sam's turn to be confused. "Uh, maybe because you do every time we're at a bar on New Year's?"

It was true. Some years, Sam and Dean would go to a bar to celebrate the new year. Every single year they'd done that, Dean would scope out a woman to kiss at midnight. Often times, it would lead to them hooking up. So, when Dean said he didn't want to, Sam didn't believe him.

"I just... don't want to this year, okay?" Dean snapped, sliding out of his seat and walking up toward the bar. He did want to kiss someone, but not just any random woman. He wanted to kiss Castiel, his boyfriend. They had been together for nearly six months at that point. Unfortunately, Sam was unaware of their relationship; Dean had been too afraid to tell him, and Castiel respected that. As a result, Dean and Castiel had been in a secret relationship for several months. Dean finished off his beer, which he had taken with him when he got up, and put it on the counter.

Sam and Castiel both watched Dean as he walked away. Castiel wanted to get up and follow him, but needed to ask Sam something first. "What is the purpose of kissing a stranger at midnight?"

Sam chuckled softly. "It's this... tradition where two people kiss each other to ring in the new year." Castiel tilted his head at the idiom. "You know, as the day changes from December 31st to January 1st. It doesn't have to be a stranger, but it's not like Dean has a girlfriend or anything. I don't know, it's a weird tradition, if you ask me." He paused, looking at Dean, who had just chugged the rest of his beer. "I should go see if he's okay."

Castiel followed his gaze, and when he heard Sam begin to scoot out of his seat, he stopped him. "I'll handle it."

Sam was confused as to why Castiel would want to deal with something that was probably personal. Then again, he had noticed that Dean and Castiel had been talking a lot more lately. Sam shrugged it off, but kept an eye on Dean.

Castiel approached Dean. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dean answered.

Castiel paused for a moment, studying Dean. "No, you're not. Something's bothering you."

"Leave it alone."

Of course, Castiel didn't. He never did. He placed a reassuring hand on Dean's forearm, which was resting on the bar. Dean looked at the hand, then up to meet Castiel's comforting gaze. "Dean, you know you can talk to me."

Dean sighed. "It's just... I want to be able to kiss my boyfriend on New Year's. I really do. But Sam's here, and..." He trailed off.

"You aren't ready to tell him," Castiel finished for him.

Dean nodded, looking back down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Cas."

"Hey, look at me," Castiel coaxed, squeezing his arm a bit. Dean did so. "You do not need to apologize to me. I understand."

Dean's face softened. He really wanted to kiss Castiel at that moment, but he could feel Sam's eyes on him. He settled for a gentle smile, and began to walk back to the booth. He knew that if he remained by the bar for too long, Sam would come over as well. Castiel followed.

"You alright?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dean said, repeating what he had told Castiel earlier; although this time, he was feeling much better.

The three of them sat at the booth for several more minutes, until the reporter on the news station that had been playing on the bar's television began to count down from ten. The TV was behind Sam, so he turned around to watch.

Ten, nine, eight, seven...

Dean slipped his hand into Castiel's, and squeezed. Their eyes locked.

Six, five, four...

Dean smiled. Castiel did, too.

Three, two, one...

Many people in the bar who weren't busy kissing someone cheered. "Happy New Year!" Dean and Castiel seemed to both be in a trance, but Dean easily removed himself from it when he saw Sam turning back around in the corner of his eye.

Sam noticed that Dean didn't seem very enthusiastic. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Dean denied. In reality, he was still a bit sad that he wasn't able to kiss Castiel. "I'm just... tired."

"You wanna go back to the motel?" Sam offered.

"No, no, we might as well stay for a bit," Dean said.

Sam nodded slowly. "Alright."

They were there for about an hour and a half before Sam decided he was getting extremely tired. Neither Sam or Dean really wanted to get wasted, and it was improbable that Castiel would have been able to get drunk, considering the amount of alcohol the angel would have to consume. Therefore, none of them had ended up drunk at the end of the night. Sam and Dean went back to the motel, while Castiel flew off.

* * *

It was nearly two in the morning on the same night when Castiel appeared again. Sam had fallen asleep easily; Dean, not so much. He was on Sam's laptop, looking up something, when...

"Dean," Castiel whispered, having suddenly appeared near the foot of the hunter's bed.

"Damn it, Cas, you scared me," Dean whispered back, harshly. "What are you doing here? It's almost two in the morning."

"Not everywhere," Castiel vaguely replied.

"What do you—" Dean began, but was cut off when Castiel placed his hand on his shoulder... and, suddenly, they were next to a large crowd. Dean also noticed he was suddenly wearing more layers of clothes than he was mere seconds ago. "Where are we?"

"Seattle, Washington. It isn't midnight here yet," Castiel explained. Dean looked around, and saw the Space Needle shooting up into the sky.

"Why did you—" Dean cut himself off, realizing Castiel's implications. "Oh, you brilliant son of a bitch." Dean smiled. "Thank you."

Castiel smiled in return. He took Dean's hand, and led him into the crowd. It wasn't long before loads of people began counting down.

Ten, nine, eight, seven...

Dean turned to Castiel, and placed his hands on Castiel's arms. In response, Castiel placed his hands on Dean's sides, under his jacket. They locked eyes.

Six, five, four...

Dean kissed Castiel tenderly. They were both smiling very faintly as their lips were locked.

Three, two, one...

"Happy New Year!" Half the crowd cheered, while the other half was kissing their significant other.

A few seconds later, a firework sounded off.

A few more seconds later, Dean and Castiel pulled apart, smiling widely at one another.

"Happy New Year, Cas."

"Happy New Year, Dean."

Dean laid a kiss on Castiel's forehead, before putting an arm around Castiel's shoulders as Castiel put an arm around Dean's waist. Castiel laid his head on Dean's shoulder as fireworks continued to go off in the night sky.

Yep, this was definitely Dean's favorite celebration of New Year's Eve.


End file.
